Fairgrounds Ideal Home Show
The long-running Fairgrounds Ideal Home Show is celebrating North Carolina’s storied barbecue culture when it returns to the NC State Fairgrounds September 18-20 by bringing in legacy barbecue names and pitmasters to teach (and feed) audiences their craft.
The three-day show brings together hundreds of local experts in home improvement in one place and picks up where online research leaves off – by providing real world advice specific to each individual project. Guests can check out the latest home improvement products, get advice from presenters on the Fresh Ideas Stage, participate in interactive workshops and at this show – taste world-class barbecue from industry legends.
Just in time for tailgate season, the Fairgrounds Ideal Home Show is rounding up some of the biggest names in North Carolina barbecue to share trade secrets and samples.
Pitmaster Ryan Mitchelll appears at the show on Saturday, September 19 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Ryan was born and raised in a barbecue family as the son of Ed Mitchell, well-known for Eastern North Carolina whole hog barbecue. Long before the Pitmaster fame Ryan could be found by the side of his grandparents, Willie and Doretha Mitchell, day in and day out helping out in their small corner store off 301 HWY in Wilson.
After high school, Ryan attended East Carolina University to pursue his dreams of playing college football and earning a degree in economics. He spent eight years working in commercial and investment banking for some of the nation’s largest firms before he re-evaluated his professional life and decided it time to leave his 60 hour a week desk job and return to his roots and passion.
In addition to Ryan, another third generation NC pitmaster – Sam Jones will be onstage on Friday, September 18 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The Sam Jones legacy began with Sam’s grandad, Peter Jones, who opened the Skylight Inn in 1947 at age 17. Sam Jones is known for Eastern Carolina barbecue and chopped whole hog barbecue.
